1. Field of the Invention
A. Present Status of the Problem
It is common knowledge that this country and most of the world is undergoing a veneral disease epidemic. In the United States along the disease has reached pandemic proportions. It is estimated that only one-fifth of the cases are reported and only one-third reach the attention of physicians and Public Health authorities in order to receive treatment. The availability of a simple, rapid and inexpensive test would aid in recognition and control of this disease.
The usual clinical evidence of a gonorrheae infection in the male is a purulent discharge from the meatus and urethra of the penis and a discharge in the ureal area of the female. As routine procedure, it is necessary to make a differential diagnosis of the nature of the discharge before antibiotics can be prescribed. As a rule the first test is to determine if the urethritis is gonococcal or non-specific in nature.
2. Summary of the Prior Art
While some prior art, U.S. Pat. No. 3,450,129, Avery et al., makes use of frangible ampuls for carrying reagents, the use of that method is directed specifically to transporting a living bacterial specimen to a laboratory for culture and using their apparatus and method for the purpose of preserving the viability of the bacteria until they can be cultured, the purpose is to provide a concentration of micro-organism, whereas this invention is a diagnostic one-use disposable test system and does not require culture. It is a direct test on the few organisms present in the urethral tract picked up on a sterile swab inserted therein. Diagnosis is made at the time of collection of the specimen.